Wine in a Box: Octavin Sauvignon Blanc
Part of the mystique and allure of wine is the marvelously inefficient packaging. Soda cans have evolved to save aluminum. Costco sells milk in updated milk containers to save stacking space. It’s the nature of the beast: be more efficient than your competitors or you will lose.
While this may be true in the wine business to some degree, it has not yet led to widespread acceptance of efficient packaging. Some wineries seem to love putting their wine into bottles with weight and girth worthy of a dumbbell rack at a gym. Champagne especially: the bigger, the better.
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It isn’t that we haven’t cracked the case on better wine packaging. We have. There are lighter bottles, bottles with better shape, foil bottles, and the old stalwart: boxed wine. What we need is for someone to step up and put good wine into a box. While Maryland Wine fans may argue that Terrapin Station is doing just that, we need this to happen on a national scale.
Octavin is trying to do that. They’re putting “Artisan wines” into a three-liter box. Check the demo on their website to see their take on the problem.
So it was with great pleasure that I received a sample of Octavin’s boxed wine for me to try: the Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. Seeing such a specific designation on a box of wine is rare. Usually you’re lucky to get a varietal. Usually you’re resigned to “White table wine” or “Alcohol.”
Well the Silver Birch didn’t disappoint. First twist of the spicket yielded a torrent of golden wine. It was like a firehose. We aren’t here for refinement, though. We’re here to drink wine and this enclosure gets it to your glass in a hurry.
First look: Light, golden color. Fresh apple aroma, some floral. Nice example of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. On the palette is was nice, very light and refreshing. Not trying to do too much. The trend with boxed wine is that they are pleasant but less complex than their bottled counterparts. This is no exception, however less-complexity is just fine as long as you aren’t overcompensating with oak or alcohol. Are you listening, small wine producer?
Long term test: So, boxed wine claims to last longer than wine in a bottle. It’s nice. You can have one glass and not worry about punting the whole 750ml. The wine help up okay. Octavin advertises that the wine will last up to six weeks. The Wife noticed a change after a week and after three weeks the wine had tired out quite a bit. I’m very testy about open wines though, one of the harshest critics you’ll find on the morning after.
Octavin’s entry into boxed wine is a welcome one. They are delivering a superior product when compared to other boxed wine offerings. At the price point ($25-$30 per box, 3L equivalent) it is a great competitor to bottled wines in that class.
August 19th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
The Silver Birch was my favorite from the tasting a couple weeks back in DC – glad you got a chance to try some!